Source of inspiration: Issue 173 of Simply Cards & Papercraft

As promised, here is the result of my first Inspired By… project.

There has been a boom in die cutting in recent years, with increasingly complex designs available (a quick Google search shows me that Crafting.co.uk even has Marvel Avengers dies!). And while they are pretty and quite ingenious, to me it takes a bit of the fun out of it.

Not that I enjoy intricate cutting. But I like to make a design my own, and the more picturesque the die, the less versatile it is. You can really only make one design with a die that’s a complete picture in itself. Not to mention the cost of having to buy lots of different ones. I like to get more value from my kit. So my die collection tends towards simple shapes, borders and motifs. Primary among these are a set of nesting ovals (because who can cut an oval accurately? And they’re sexier than circles).

Anyway, the set of dies in this cover gift meet my criteria: they can be used as a focus or to accent a number of different designs, and can be combined in different ways. There’s also an embossing folder and “Happy Birthday” and “Thinking of You” stamps (check them out here).

The examples in the magazine used some fun techniques, but they weren’t really my style. They were bright and multicoloured, with hard edges and precise lines. I’m far more random than that, so I decided to see what I could do with more subtle colours and a limited palette, using softer edges and more – let’s say serendipitous – techniques.

This one used a very messy technique involving using the embossing folder on kitchen foil, then covering the foil in ink (I used shimmer mist) before pressing another piece of paper on to it. It took a few attempts to get a good impression, but the failed pieces made nice designs to cut butterflies out of.

This one uses the butterfly die cut waste as a stencil, with one of the aforementioned offcut butterflies strategically placed. The sentiment and stripe are done with embossing powder.

Intricate butterflies cut from vellum accent this card. I also used a technique I believe is called letterpress, inking the embossing folder so that the ink sits in the debossed image (I used a very subtle colour difference so it’s hard to see from the photo, but it’s a nice effect).

Brusho staining an old book page made the background for this one, and the negative piece from the vellum butterflies has been added in the bottom corner. I went for a distressed look with torn edges and crinkles.

Well, that was fun! I’ve just received my subscription copy of Cloth Paper Scissors, so I suspect I’ll be Inspired again soon…